Kindle Paperwhite a hit with reviewers

Kindle Paperwhite has been described as the best e-reader on the market. Photo: AFP

As Amazon's latest e-reader, the Kindle Paperwhite goes on sale, the first reviews are in and the news from the leading tech blogs is that it's a winner.

Mashable proclaimed it the best e-ink screen you can buy, while Tech Crunch says the Paperwhite "Is a beautiful device, plays catch-up and arguably surpasses the [Barnes & Noble] Nook Simple Touch with Glowlight."

Even Cnet, which was critical of its weight (7.5oz) and lack of memory expansion said: "For the moment, the Kindle Paperwhite has jumped to the head of the e-reader pack. It may not be perfect, but it's definitely the Kindle a lot of people have been waiting for."

The new Kindle's chief competition is the Nook Simple Touch with Glowlight, launched in April, by Barnes & Noble. The first electric ink e-reader to have an illuminated screen -- meaning that you could use it indoors or outdoors in darkness and in light -- it quickly set the standard and has gained market share. In anticipation of Amazon's latest device, Barnes & Noble cut the price of its e-reader to $119, the same as the Kindle Paperwhite, and highlighted the fact that unlike Amazon's device it ships with a power cable and ad-free browsing as standard.

Though also $119, the Kindle only ships with a USB cable and ad-free browsing is a cost option. Both devices have 2GB of internal storage but the Nook has an SD expansion slot so that memory can be increased to 35GB. The Kindle cannot be expanded but it does feature free cloud storage for all Amazon-purchased content. However, for the early reviewers at least it is the quality, resolution and sensitivity of the Kindle's screen that makes it the best on the market.